Bree Walker is back on course for her Winter Olympic monobob medal bid with a record-breaking and historic World Cup triumph in Switzerland -- but she's continuing to play down her hopes of striking gold at the Milan-Cortina Games.
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The Australian pilot had another fantastic morning on Saturday at St Moritz where she's not always thrived, setting a new record time of 1 minute 11.29 seconds on her second run of the storied Celerina track to take her third World Cup triumph of the season.
The victory, the first ever by an Australian at Celerina, pulled the 33-year-old former hurdler right back in the hunt to win the overall title, as she now lies just 27 points behind standings leader Laura Nolte, her German rival who could only finish sixth in Saturday's race.
But Walker, who bounced back after finishing in a season's-worst ninth the previous week in Winterberg, wasn't about to get carried away when it was suggested afterwards that her brilliant performances were rapidly shortening her odds as a favourite for Olympic gold.
"Oh, am I? Look, I'm just focusing on what I need to do. And yeah, I had a really good race today, so I'm super happy," responded Walker, who's also won in Lillehammer and Sigulda this season.
It was a splendid piece of gatecrashing too from Walker in a race that doubled as the European championship on the oldest and most celebrated track in the sport, the venue for the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics which is only one currently in use that features hand-cut ice and natural refrigeration.
Melanie Hasler took the European title for Switzerland, but was a substantial 0.53sec slower than the Australian, who was quickest on both runs, clocking 1:11.98 before her landmark 1:11.29 for a combined total of 2:23.27 and a sixth World Cup win of her career.
Walker attributes much of her improved form this European winter to the coaching of her mentor Pierre Lueders, Canada's former Olympic bobsleigh champ, who got suitably excited at trackside.
"Pierre has been teaching me over the years, and it's been a slow process. He loves this track, had so much success here, so I probably should dedicate this win to him today because he's been working really hard with me," said Walker.
"I'm glad he had a lot of fun today. I sure did."
Australian Associated Press
